Online complements traditional TV

According to findings from entertainment, media and technology market research firm Interpret, despite the “monumental” growth of online TV viewership, the effects on cord-cutting have so far been minimal.

Interpret’s report – Online TV: Competitor or Complement to Traditional TV? – analyses the quarterly evolution of online television and what drives consumers to access this content online. It suggests that over the last two years, the penetration of consumers who watch at least one hour of online video per week has grown to 61 per cent of 12-to-65 year-olds (a 50 per cent increase from 2009). Over the same period, households watching at least one hour of television have declined 11 per cent for network TV and 13 per cent for cable networks. Despite increasing popularity of online TV and declining audience share for traditional television, 77 per cent of television streamers still subscribe to pay-TV services.

“The findings from our analysis suggest that consumers aren’t migrating away from television as much as they are looking for a broader mix of options to consume television content,” said Stephanie Sutton, Interpret analyst and author of the report. “Convenience factors – especially catching up on missed episodes and being able to watch whenever, wherever – are cited as the most important reasons to choose online options.”